I woke up this morning at 3:30a and although I am an early riser, this is quite early for me. I woke up with a startled feeling around 2a, but fell back asleep only to be wide awake a short time later. I got up and went to the bathroom, but by the time I had come back to bed, I could feel the Lord drawing me.
Sunday Pastor challenged the whole church body to begin a tithe of their time to the Lord… literally 2 hours and 24 minutes a day to give to him in reading the Word, worship, prayer, etc. I was actually working in children’s church so I heard about it second hand. So this week I have been participating and LOVING it. It is a lot of time to commit to, but I am finding that my appetite for Him is growing and expanding and blooming the more I am intentionally focused on being present with Him.
As I have been preparing this morning for a single ladies meeting at the church a few hours from now, the Lord took me to Hosea 2:14-20, which I am now affectionately calling “His Husband Resume” (I think you’ll see why *grin*)
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart. There I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor to be for her a door of hope and expectation. And she shall sing there and respond as in the days of her youth and as at the time when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, that you will call me Ishi, and you shall no more call me Me Baali. For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned or seriously remembered by their names. And in that day I will make a covenant for Israel and with the living creatures of the open country and with the birds of the heavens and with the creeping things of the ground. And I will break the bow and the sword and conflict out of the land and will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to Me forever, yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will even betroth you to Me in stability and in faithfulness, and you shall know the Lord.”
He says we will call Him “Ishi” instead of “Me Baali”…. or we will call Him “Husband” instead of “master” and He speaks through the prophet Hosea to show us how that transition takes place as He reveals Himself. Who wouldn’t want to call Him Husband? He pursues us. He speaks with tenderness and His words penetrate right to the heart…
I mean, this is the stuff Hollywood’s chick flicks bank on, right? There’s the pursuit where the man chases the woman and then there’s that moment where he says just the right thing at just the right time with just the right music in the background and…. we’re swooning.
…but the movies tend to end there, leaving us to believe that everything from there on was just as magical and perfect and also to wonder why that never happens in real life…? hmm… But the His Husband Resume doesn’t quit there…
He says He will give us vineyards, which speaks of rejoicing and celebration. This is reiterated a sentence or two later when He goes on to say there will be singing and a return to the joy you experienced when He first made you free. He will turn our valley of Achor, also known as the valley of trouble, into a door of hope and expectation. I love this! He will take the very things that have been troubling us and transform them into an entrance into hope and the expectation of what good will come next…
…and it doesn’t stop there!…
He will be the kind of Love to us as a Husband that will literally forget and have trouble recalling the passions and desires that once competed for our affection… We cannot even remember what mattered to us before, because His Love has pushed out those other things…
He will actively pursue and make way for our safety and security.
And His covenant with us? Not only is it FOREVER, but it is FOREVER in its righteousness, justice, never-ebbing or waning Love, mercy, stability, and faithfulness.
And this Husband or “Ishi” is for all who believe…the married and the unmarried, the man and the woman. I pray that your heart would be all aflutter today over the One who Loves you with His perfect Love.
Blessings this (early) Saturday morning, friends.
As a husband, that’s a big measuring stick. And a tough act to follow???? LOL
But if I even get it 1% right my Bride is so happy…*grin*
Good to see you writing again…
Mmmmm, so wonderful. Thanks for this! Hope all is well!
[...] wilderness feels like a strange place to take someone by the hand. The wilderness? Really? “Therefore, behold, I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness, and I will [...]
I love this!!